In 1920, country girl Mathilde is living in Brittany with her aunt and uncle when she learns that her fiancé Manech was one of five French soldiers condemned to a barbarous death by their own side. Court-martialed for intentionally wounding themselves, their punishment is to be thrown into no man's land, unarmed and with their hands tied behind their backs. But Manech may have survived. Hiring a dogged old bird of a private detective and a lawyer to aid her, Mathilde is off on an adventure. She pursues her sleuthing through a flurry of letters, documents, and private interviews--hunting down the soldiers who were in the trenches with Manech--along with their lovers and relatives. She also discovers that she has a sort of doppelgänger: a Corsican prostitute pursuing a parallel investigation for another of the five, and murdering anyone who did her own beloved mate wrong. Mathilde will have to hurry to follow the clues piecing the story together before they are lost forever.Lire la suite...

Résumé :

In 1920, country girl Mathilde is living in Brittany with her aunt and uncle when she learns that her fiancé Manech was one of five French soldiers condemned to a barbarous death by their own side. Court-martialed for intentionally wounding themselves, their punishment is to be thrown into no man's land, unarmed and with their hands tied behind their backs. But Manech may have survived. Hiring a dogged old bird of a private detective and a lawyer to aid her, Mathilde is off on an adventure. She pursues her sleuthing through a flurry of letters, documents, and private interviews--hunting down the soldiers who were in the trenches with Manech--along with their lovers and relatives. She also discovers that she has a sort of doppelgänger: a Corsican prostitute pursuing a parallel investigation for another of the five, and murdering anyone who did her own beloved mate wrong. Mathilde will have to hurry to follow the clues piecing the story together before they are lost forever.